TAKS Essay Score Point 3

Following is criteria for scoring a "3" on the TAKS Essay. The words in green are those missing from the in-class handout.

SCORE POINT 3

EACH COMPOSITION AT THIS SCORE POINT IS A GENERALLY EFFECTIVE PRESENTATION OF THE WRITER’S IDEAS.

FOCUS AND COHERENCE

• Individual paragraphs and the composition as a whole are, for the most part, focused. The writer generally shows the clear relationship between ideas, making few sudden shifts from one idea to the next.


• The composition as a whole has a sense of completeness. The introduction and conclusion add some depth to the composition.


• Most of the writing contributes to the development or quality of the composition as a whole.

ORGANIZATION

• The writer’s progression of thought from sentence to sentence and paragraph to paragraph is generally smooth and controlled. For the most part, transitions are meaningful, and the links between ideas are logical.


• The organizational strategy or strategies the writer chooses are generally effective.


• Wordiness and/or repetition, if present, are minor problems that do not stall the progression of ideas.

DEVELOPMENT OF IDEAS

• The writer attempts to develop all the ideas included in the composition. Although some ideas may be developed more thoroughly and specifically than others, the development overall reflects some depth of thought, enabling the reader to generally understand and appreciate the writer’s ideas.


• The writer’s presentation of some ideas may be thoughtful. There may be little evidence that the writer has been willing to take compositional risks when developing the topic.

VOICE

• The writer engages the reader and sustains that connection throughout most of the composition.


• For the most part, the composition sounds authentic and original. The writer is generally able to express his/her individuality or unique perspective.

CONVENTIONS

• The writer generally demonstrates a good command of spelling, capitalization, punctuation, grammar, usage, and sentence structure. Although the writer may make minor errors, they create few disruptions in the fluency of the composition.


• The words, phrases, and sentence structures the writer uses are generally appropriate and contribute to the overall effectiveness of the communication of ideas.